Wellington win lifts spirits

Last updated at 12:58 08 February 2008

After a successful weekend away at Harrow, spirits were high in our camp, and it was great to be looking forward to a home game the coming Saturday.

A very tight match last year saw Wellington take the edge against Epsom College, and once again it was set to be a crucial moment in the season, as their success so far had been anything but ordinary – unbeaten, playing several good sides.

A greasy day (winter is approaching faster each year it seems) meant that there was no room for handling errors this afternoon. Every pass had to be on the money if the ball was to find its way into space, and a confident warm up left the entire team with a positive vibe.

The opening moments of the game were uncharacteristically strong from Wellington. Despite an early penalty which allowed them to relieve pressure after a good kick-off, it was only a few minutes before fly half Christian Lewis-Pratt pointed to the posts after the opposition were caught offside, and he guided it through the middle to put Wellington in the lead.

Soon after, our front row were able to disrupt an Epsom scrum deep inside their twenty two, and the scrappy ball at the base left little options available for their number eight but to be bundled into touch by the eager Ed Laurent. The well-drilled catch and drive followed, and Ben Bateman stretched over for his first try of the season, presenting Epsom with an 8-0 Wellington lead to catch up on.

Nevertheless, Epsom piled the pressure on and were only let down on the try line by a double movement, and squandered the chance of an overlap when lazy hands didn't appreciate the wet conditions. They did however manage to leave Wellington territory with a deserved three points, but very soon after the restart Sam Edgerley broke his way through the defence on the wing, using his impressive pace to increase the home side's advantage to 13-3.

The rest of the first half was spent deep within Epsom's side of the pitch, pressing and pressing against their solid defence to find the space to squeeze another try in. Unfortunately, however, on the break of Marc MacMillan's nose – and despite being in possession on their five metre line – the whistle went for the break. Frustrating, but we had worked hard and were glad for the rest.

The next 15 minutes saw an even battle between the two sides, tearing up the turf in the middle of the park. Some excellent patches of rugby saw vague chances opening up, but the defence was strong and the aggression and determination was obvious. It wasn't until Epsom managed some skilful handling in the corner that the scoreboard flickered, and as their first try of their match was recorded, the gap tightened to 13-8.

In what became a nail-biting encounter, Wellington managed to extend their lead as Lewis-Pratt secured a further three points. However, an exchange of tactical kicking resulted in Epsom running in another try. A last minute Wellington penalty didn't quite have the legs to increase the lead, but nevertheless, we managed to hang on to possession for long enough, and the final whistle announced the victory 16-13.

Once again, we felt we were back on track to playing some decent rugby consistently, and relished in the challenge against good opposition. Since the half term break, we have definitely started making the kind of progress that we and our coaches, Mr Owton and Mr Gallop, believed we were capable of and there is an air of excitement that we can improve further still. With RGS High Wycombe withdrawing from our Saturday fixture this week, to avoid injuries before their Daily Mail Cup match against St Peters, we are able to have a good rest before we re-start our fixture programme again next week